Taming the Wildcat (Sargosian Chronicles) by Bethany J. Barnes Mina Carter Page B

she now commanded.
    It still shocked her that Commander Vann had not only let her stay aboard, but that he had made her Air Group Commander of the fighter wing onboard. Especially after her horrifying, emotional outburst. Perhaps he judged her on how she had been before that, which would make more sense. No one wanted a crazy, emotionally compromised woman commanding anything, let alone a squadron of fighter pilots. Hell, they were crazy enough as it was. No need to add emotions into the mix.
    “I heard that, King,” came a low, gravelly voice over her comms. Oops. She sometimes forgot “Big Brother” kept the lines open on the bridge for all of the fighters and shuttles.
    “Stop eavesdropping. Then you won’t hear things you don’t like,” she quipped back.
    The comm crackled again, and what sounded very much like, “Bloody smart-mouthed women pilots,” came back at her.
    She was sorely tempted to ask him to repeat himself, but decided against it. She took too many liberties in the way she spoke to him, both on and off duty. For the most part she remained professional and respectful to him on duty, as she didn’t want others thinking of it as being acceptable to mouth off to the commander of the ship. However, it was just part of who she was. A smartass. Though, she didn’t bother teasing people she didn’t care about or didn’t like.
    Beep-Beep-Beep…
    Summer looked down at her onboard radar. The fighter’s scanners had picked up a good-sized vessel heading straight for the Pendragon. For a split second, fear hit deep in the pit of her stomach. Flashbacks of past events ran through her mind. Calling out to her squad, she peeled off to investigate.
    “Knights, we’ve got an unknown vessel inbound and on a direct course that will intersect with the Pendragon. Tighten up and stay on task with the package. Proceed with escort, but keep your eyes and ears open. Knight One, leaving formation.”
    She knew not to panic. If there were any sort of problem, they would have received word from the ‘Dragon already.
    “Pendragon, this is Phoenix. I’ve got an inbound craft showing on my radar that no one made me aware of. It’s not a Fleet Ident code, and my computer isn’t pulling up the registry. Is this a friendly that is expected, or should I turn them away like an unwanted salesman? Over.” She waited for a response, but still moved at a fast clip to try to intercept the ship before it got to the Pendragon.
    “Shit!” she cursed out loud. They had approached on her blind side from behind the bigger ship. By doing that, there was no way she’d be able to cut them off before they hit the ship she now called “home.”
    The hanger doors to the shuttle bay opened, so that meant they had clearance, but no one had bothered to respond to her call for confirmation on the identification of the transport.
    “Phoenix, inbound is a friendly. Resume escort,” finally came the answer. Not Vann, but a communications officer.
    It was too late for her to rejoin the escort detail. Her gaze locked onto the side of the transport ship. She knew it by not only its sleek shape, but by the identification on the side. It couldn’t get any plainer. Boldly painted on the side were the words, “9th/12th Wildcats.”
    She thought her heart would burst from her chest. Screw the escort detail. Hanson could manage the rest of it.
    “Hanson, this is King. You’ve got command of the rest of the escort detail. I’ve got somewhere I’ve got to be. King out.”
    She hit the thrusters on her fighter and made a beeline for the shuttle bay. Light speed couldn’t get her there fast enough. She came in hot, sending flight deck mechanics and crew members diving for safety. Curses were shouted at her so loud she heard them over the roar of her bird’s engines.
    Her gaze darted around until she saw the Wildcat’s sleek ship tucked neatly in the back of the hanger. Bypassing all the fighter bay slots, she flew directly to the back and